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“The Nobel prize award was announced and it came like a gift from heaven, because it gave us a tremendous push. People in Colombia interpreted it as a mandate from the international community to persevere, to continue striving to achieve a new peace agreement, so it helped very very much,” he said.

In the first step towards peace, FARC guerrillas and UN observers have begun arriving in designated camps in the Colombian mountains.

Under the accord the rebels will begin to lay down arms; within five months all will be handed to the UN.

The FARC have also promised to help farmers switch to growing legal crops in remote areas to combat the cocaine trade.